MacDonald Never Gave Up On His Dream

Former Gryphon long snapper Dan MacDonald was getting ready to return to the University of Guelph to finish his course when he got a call from his agent. Three days later he was playing in his first CFL game with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.“I was planning on coming back to school to finish it,” he said in a phone interview from Regina. “It’s pretty crazy it all happened so quick.”While MacDonald used up his five years of eligibility with last year’s Yates Cup champion Gryphons, he still had three classes to go to complete his course. He’d attended the Toronto Argos’ training camp at Alumni Stadium and thought his pro days were likely over when they cut him June 2.“After I got cut, I was seriously debating stopping playing football because you don’t know how many more you want to take,” MacDonald said. “I’ve got all that time down the road, but you know. I talked to my dad and my mom about it and they said ‘Just give it a go.’ And (former Gryphon offensive lineman) Matt Toppan was on me about keeping it going. He helped me out a lot. We worked on it and eventually it all came around.”MacDonald had been drafted by the Argos in the seventh round, 56th overall, of the 2015 CFL draft and attended two of their training camps. They didn’t release him after the 2015 camp and things looked promising when they added him to their roster Feb. 19.Four months later, MacDonald was working at a furniture store in Oakville and thinking about his upcoming semester at school. Then Saskatchewan’s long snapper Jorgen Hus got hurt and the Roughriders needed a replacement in a hurry.“We have the same agent,” MacDonald said. "I was sitting at work and I missed a bunch of phone calls. I got a call and I called my agent really quick and he said ’You’re going to Saskatchewan.’ I started yelling and then I said to my boss “I’ve got to leave. I’ve got to go play some football.’ She said ‘OK.’ I ran out of there and I was here that same night.”MacDonald had a quick tryout and was in the green and white uniform two days later for Saskatchewan’s home game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on the Sunday of the Labour Day weekend.“The first game was a little nerve-racking, but after that it turned back to normal football. I’m just having fun,” he said. “It was a quick turnaround, a one-day prep. It was a lot to take in, but it wasn’t too bad. I had a walk-through to get ready, and that was the first time I’d spent in pads since the Argos training camp.”At 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds, MacDonald is quite a bit smaller than the offensive linemen who range from 6-foot-3 to 6-foot-8. He tweeted a photo of him between two of his teammates taken on the field during the first game.“It looks like a little kid out there playing with the adults,” he said. “It’s pretty fun to look at.”MacDonald has had family support in the stands at both games the Riders have played since he joined the team. His father, Gryphon offensive line coach Mike MacDonald, flew out for the opener and then returned in time for the Gryphons’ Labour Day game at Windsor where he proudly showed off photos of his son in his Roughriders uniform.“I don’t think my dad would miss that first game, unless he was getting his leg chopped off or something. I think he was more excited about it than I was,” Dan said. “He flew out (for the first game) and my mom flew out for the second one.”The second one was last weekend’s rematch against the Blue Bombers in Winnipeg. The Riders host the Edmonton Eskimos Sunday and Hamilton Tiger-Cats Sept. 24 before playing the Ottawa RedBlacks at Ottawa Oct. 7 and the Argos at Toronto Oct. 15.“Hopefully I can get some of the boys out,” he said.MacDonald has been a long snapper since his early days in the sport, but started specializing in his fourth season with the Gryphons.“I had three concussions in a year so I stopped playing fullback,” he said. “I’ve been (long snapping) since I was 9 because my dad felt it was something that could help me do something special on the team. It’s something I’d always done and I knew I was good at it.”And he is in the CFL because of his prowess at it.“It’s absolutely insane that somebody would pay me to do this,” he said. MacDonald hits the field only for Saskatchewan’s field goals and punts. The rest of the time, he’s on the sidelines.“You watch the game,” he said. “It’s like I’m a fan, but I don’t get to sit in the stands, I get to sit on the field and eventually every now and then I get to run out. We snap every once in a while because we’ve got to stay limber and stuff. Pretty much, we’re just watching the game and then when it’s your turn, you’ve got to go out and make a play.”How long MacDonald is with the Roughriders is unknown, but he’s going to make the most out of it.“If (Hus) comes back, it’s his job,” MacDonald said. "He’s played in the NFL. I know that and he knows it. He’s helping me out and I appreciate it. Whenever he comes back, maybe they’ll keep me around and maybe they won’t. I’m just going to play it week by week and keep doing my thing.“I’m going to keep enjoying it while I have it.”